Antti Savinainen – Suomi (Finland)
The Christian doctrine usually equates heaven with salvation. According to Theosophy, however, heaven and salvation do not mean the same thing, although the term salvation is seldom used in theosophical circles. In the following, I will examine heaven and salvation from the perspectives of Protestant Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, and Buddhism. After that, I will present a theosophical view on heaven and salvation.
The Protestant Doctrine of Salvation
At the core of the Protestant concept of salvation is the doctrine of atonement. Atonement is necessary because everyone has sinned. The human being is a unity of body and soul, whereas the spirit is not a separate entity, but a synonym or characteristic of the soul. The doctrine of original sin holds that, in the Fall, the image of God in humanity was completely corrupted. In this sense, it can be said that, according to Protestantism, humans are fundamentally evil. Everyone’s destiny is clear from birth: eternal damnation. On the bright side, this can be avoided through God's grace, although eternal damnation to those who do not accept this offer may seem a little unfair.
In Protestantism, salvation means that after Judgment Day, the soul will enter heaven to live an eternal life in communion with God. Others will be eternally separated from God. In a strict interpretation, they will go to eternal torment in hell. However, a bit more benevolent beliefs on eternal damnation exist among Protestant churches (for instance, those who are not saved might be annihilated).
Salvation in Orthodox Christianity
According to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the image of God in the human being was dimmed by the Fall, but not completely corrupted. Thus, humans are good in essence, albeit imperfect and prone to sin. Human salvation is via mystica, a process from the image of God to the likeness of God. Humans are more authentically structured as triune than in Protestantism. Humans' greatest ability is hidden in the spirit, for with it they can be in communion with the Holy Trinity. This spirit or spiritual understanding is closely connected to the Logos. Godlikeness can be achieved through cooperation, or synergy, between humans and God. The result is theosis, the deification of humans. Embarking on this path requires metanoia, a change of mind. This, too, is a gradual, deepening process that leads to the purification of the heart. The deification of a human being does not only mean the salvation of the soul. One's physical body is also renewed and glorified. One thus becomes a participant in the glorification of Christ, the transfiguration that affects all of creation. Salvation is not merely entry into heaven after death, but the ever more complete realization of a process that began in time.
Nirvana and the Path of the Bodhisattva
Buddha presented four noble truths about suffering. Ignorance and selfishness are the causes of suffering. Liberation from suffering, enlightenment, and the attainment of nirvana are achieved by following the noble eightfold path. Enlightenment is possible because every living being has the Buddha nature. This Buddha nature is already perfect. Sogyal Rinpoche (1993, https://urly.fi/42pl) says,”…not even the Buddhas can improve it in their infinite wisdom, nor can sentient beings spoil it in their seemingly infinite confusion.”
Nirvana is liberation from suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of rebirth (samsara) by extinguishing desire, hatred, and ignorance. As such, it is not the end of all existence or a heaven after death, but the extinction of the egoistic personal life. Moreover, upon reaching nirvana, a person is freed from the cycle of rebirth. This is the ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhism. And yet, Maha Chohan, a high Adept who helped oversee the developments of the early Theosophical Society (TS), said of this goal the following (https://urly.fi/42pd):
It is not the individual and determined purpose of attaining oneself Nirvana (the culmination of all knowledge and absolute wisdom) which is, after all only an exalted and glorious selfishness – but the self-sacrificing pursuit of the best means to lead on the right path our neighbour, to cause as many of our fellow-creatures as we possibly can to benefit by it, which constitutes the true theosophist.
Maha Chohan considered the Bodhisattva's path to be the right one. Pekka Ervast (1875–1934), a prominent Finnish Rosicrucian theosophist, gave a series of lectures on H. P. Blavatsky’s The Voice of Silence in which he describes the Bodhisattva's choice as follows:
He is a master – free from change, free from rebirth. He has earned the reward for his efforts; he is enveloped in the blissful radiance of eternal peace. The glory of Nirvana calls him, rest and peace in the bosom of the Father – why does he stop? He hears the music of the heavens, hears the harmonies of the spheres – why does he turn his face away?
A cry of pain pierces through the music. It rises from the land he is about to leave. It is the sigh of thousands of struggling souls, the lament of the abandoned. Would he abandon them now that he has won? His whole being is mercy, compassion, love. The Voice of Silence whispers to him: “Now bend thy head and listen well, O Bodhisattva — Compassion speaks and saith: ‘Can there be bliss when all that lives must suffer? Shalt thou be saved and hear the whole world cry?’… if thou would’st be Tathâgata, follow upon thy predecessor’s steps, remain unselfish till the endless end.”
And the Bodhisattva decides to be reborn again and again until even the last blade of grass is enlightened.
Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) has a related description in his lecture series The Fifth Gospel. (1913/1914, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA148/). Steiner recounts how Jesus observed that the Essenes became holy but, at the same time, isolated themselves from the rest of humanity. They rose to great heights, but others were left behind. At that point, the Buddha appeared to Jesus and warned him. The Buddha said that there was a mistake in his teaching at this point. If this description is taken seriously, one may conclude that the mistake was corrected in the Buddhist teachings of the Boddhisattva.
The author, Antti Savinainen, is a regular contributor to Theosophy Forward. Type his name in the search bar on the homepage or on the top right of this page, and find all his articles there!
Theosophical Understanding of Human Being
A theosophical view of heaven and salvation requires understanding the nature of a human being. Theosophy discusses seven principles or aspects of the human constitution. The first four aspects form the personality (the lower self or ego), and the top three form the higher self:
1. Physical body
2. The etheric body (the double of the physical body, the life carrier)
3. Astral body, or emotional body
4. Lower manas, or mental body
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
5. Higher manas, or causal body
6. Buddhi
7. Atma
The higher self attends the school of reincarnation, developing through successive lives. Only the good aspects of each personality are stored there.
Life After Death According to Theosophy
My description of the afterlife is based on Pekka Ervast's teachings (for a thorough presentation, see: https://theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/death-rebirth-pekka-ervast
The moment of death is a moment of celebration for the human soul, the culmination of life. At that moment, a person impartially evaluates their past life in the light of their higher self. Those present should also recognize this moment as sacred and inviolable. After a few days, the etheric body is left, and the person falls asleep. After the person wakes up in the astral world (kama loka in Theosophy), they still have the opportunity to visit the earth sphere and attend their own funeral, for example. However, this initial phase ends quite soon.
Next, the person enters a school where they can learn about life in the astral world. This kind of assistance in the afterlife began to emerge after Christ and continued to grow with the advent of Theosophy. Theosophists and others who have studied life after death through literature during their lifetime can take part in this work of helping others. Naturally, a prerequisite is that the theosophist has practiced self-education to some extent during their lifetime and wants to help other people.
At death, most people experience a division: the higher self leaves the personality. The person is no longer free to start anew. Life after death is a process of returning to the higher self. From the perspective of the personal self, everything seems fine, and the lack of contact with the higher self is not felt. A deceased person in the astral world may reassure the medium during a séance that everything is just fine. This kind of communication with the earthly realm is harmful; it prolongs the astral life and could awaken superficial qualities that need to be discarded.
Then again, death does not mean separation from the higher self for everyone. A person who is religious in a deeper sense has achieved a certain degree of peace in their life and is filled with goodwill. During their life, such a person has appealed to their higher self and established a connection between their lower personality and their higher self. They have brought the higher self into this personal life. They do not experience that division immediately after death.
The astral life ends in purgatory, a state of purification. This purifying fire is easy or difficult, depending on how deeply the person has been in the clutches of their lower self. In it, the good and unselfish aspects of the personal human being are sifted out. This has also been called the final judgment or second death, after which a personal heaven opens up to the person. Interestingly, a disciple of a Master can refuse to enter personal heaven and be reborn directly from the astral plane. Apparently, Tibetan lamas, who remember their previous lives as children, have done so. Refusal is by no means easy to do; it requires a great ability to sacrifice one’s happiness for the sake of others.
In the personal heaven (devachan in Theosophy), a person relives their life, but only the good things. All good dreams and ideals come true there; life is as we would always wish it to be at its deepest: harmony and love. Heaven is thus meditation, in which a person rebuilds themselves in accordance with their highest ideals.
Life after death culminates in the merging of personal consciousness with the higher self that was lost in death. If a person has never experienced their higher self, they will no longer remain conscious at this stage; their personal consciousness will evaporate. The “scent” of the past life, its spiritual achievements, is added to the Golden Book of Life as a single page. In this exalted state of consciousness, it is possible to examine past lives from a spiritual point of view and also to see, even plan, future lives. One sees the ideal of the perfect human being, makes a promise to Life, and seeks rebirth to realize it.
Discussion
The Protestant doctrine becomes somewhat understandable in the light of Theosophy. According to Protestantism, humans have a soul but are not granted the spirit or the higher self. The soul needs a “savior,” which in Protestantism is God outside of oneself. In Theosophy, on the other hand, “Our Father in Heaven” refers to the highest self of the human. If exoteric concepts are interpreted esoterically, the difference between Theosophy and traditional Christianity diminishes. Moreover, there is a rational interpretation of God's wrath: it means karma, the law of cause and effect. It is worth noting that Orthodox Christianity comes surprisingly close to Theosophy in its description of theosis. Of course, it does not teach reincarnation as a means to achieve the likeness of God.
Buddhism usually denies the existence of the self. Apparently, the aim is to emphasize the transitory nature of the personal self. On the other hand, the Buddha nature resembles the idea of the higher self in Theosophy.
To sum up, the goal of a theosophical seeker of truth is not heaven after death or a better rebirth sometime in the future, but eternal life which is independent of whether one lives on earth or in the afterlife. This eternal life begins when one awakens to the Buddha nature, or, in terms of esoteric Christianity, when Christ is born within one. Then one has undying compassion and love that strive to alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings. As far as I can tell, this is the true meaning of salvation in Theosophy.